


Mother's Day

by Avirra



Series: A-Team Holiday Tales [4]
Category: The A-Team (TV)
Genre: Mother's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-29
Updated: 2014-05-29
Packaged: 2018-01-27 01:31:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1710068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avirra/pseuds/Avirra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Someone is trying to make sure B.A.'s mother has the worst Mother's Day ever.  This time is it Murdock with the plan?  The guys are off to Chicago to set things right.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Mrs. Baracus and Karen are both canon characters seen on the episode 'Lease With an Option to Die' (Season 4, Episode 4)

Hannibal had had an uneasy feeling from the start, but the really bad feeling about the job they'd agreed to do kicked in when they stopped the van where their newest client directed them to - and then the man bailed out without warning.

"Captain! Catch up with him!"

"On it, Colonel!"

Murdock was already headed out of the van before he even finished speaking. The client had a head start, but Murdock was faster and soon had the man tackled. Then he looked up and saw trouble.

"Uhm - Colonel? We have a situation here, sir."

Hannibal, Face and B.A. had just gotten out of the van. Murdock's call got their attention to the fact that no less than a half-dozen weapons were pointed in their direction. Hannibal scowled, looking over at their supposed client as he scrambled his way off of the ground and fled from the scene.

"Gentlemen… we have been suckered."

Face started to move toward Murdock, but a bullet into the ground inches from him kept the team a considerable distance apart, with Murdock only a few feet from the men and the rest of them still near the van several yards away. One of the men stepped forward and called out.

"Alright – which one of you is B.A. Baracus?"

That single question did something that almost nothing ever did. The entire A-Team was stunned to speechlessness. How could anyone be looking for B.A. and not be able to immediately pick him out of the four of them? Obviously whoever had hired these men left out a couple of very important details. Like what B.A. looked like.

Only Murdock was close enough to hear the nasty comment that passed between two of the armed men.

"This is going to be a Mother's Day present for his mom to remember."

Murdock stiffened as he got angry. B.A.'s mother had been wonderful to him - treating him almost like one of her own kids. Even said she'd wanted to adopt him. Then a sudden thought sprang into life inside of his quicksilver mind and a very tiny smile formed. He stepped forward before the rest of the team had gotten over their shock.

"You fools are looking for me? Well, you found me. I'm B.A. Baracus."

Those words coming out of Murdock snapped the real B.A. out of his stupor.

"What do you think.."

Face found himself taking a deep breath and holding it as Murdock turned around and yelled - yes, **yelled** \- at B.A to stop him from saying anything else.

"Shut up, Fool! You stay out of this, all of you. This is family business. Now - what's that you jokers said about my mother?"

Between Murdock yelling at him and the sudden mention of his mother, B.A. was about to blow a gasket and he almost started forward when a hand on his arm from Hannibal stopped him. Eyes met and, even though he didn't like it one bit, he stayed at the Colonel's side.

For his part, Hannibal had noticed when Murdock had gotten suddenly stiff. The Captain had obviously heard something that none of them had and Hannibal wanted to know what that was before anyone went off half-cocked.

"Heh - you got good ears, Baracus. You're coming with us. Boss needs a little leverage in Chicago with your mom and he figures us sending him her baby boy should do the trick. Now, get over here with your hands on your head before we have to play rough with your friends."

"Easy, Sergeant, easy..."

Hannibal spoke very softly to B.A. and didn't dare move his hand from his arm. He could feel the trembling from the stored up tension is B.A.'s powerful muscles and knew the man was ready to go straight into those guns and tear folks apart. That wouldn't be good for any of them. Or lead them to whoever was trying to mess with B.A.'s mother. They were currently a long way from Chicago.

Across the way, Murdock had walked over to the men with his hands on top of his head as he'd been ordered to. Two of the men grabbed him and turned him around so that he was now facing his teammates. The first eyes he met were Face's - and Face was a little startled to find that Murdock was looking saner than he had since before the crash in 'Nam.

The brown eyes locked briefly with Hannibal as well before Murdock turned his full attention to B.A. His gaze and expression didn't waver even though his arms were being wrenched behind him and tied tightly before another rope was looped all the way around him to pin his arms to his body. He called out over to them as if he wasn't being manhandled - it rather annoyed his captors that they seemed to be being completely ignored.

"Listen up. You guys stay out of this. A man's place is **with** his mother. You hear that? I'll take care of what I need to take care of. You all just carry on with business."

The leader of the small gang just laughed.

"Baracus here is talking sense. But just to make sure you follow his advice?"

Two shots rang out near the team - each one taking out a tire on the van. Murdock reacted violently to what he thought was his friends being shot at. He took out one of the men that had been tying him and almost took out the other when a blow to the back of his head dropped him.

"No wonder the Boss said to be careful with this one. Get him into the van. Rest of you? You'd be better off finding a new teammate. This one ain't coming back."

None of them liked having to watch as Murdock's unconscious body was loaded in to the back of a van, but there was nothing they could currently do that wouldn't risk Murdock's life. When they drove off, B.A. finally let loose yelling.

"That crazy fool! What does he think he's doing telling them gunmen he's me? Of all the darn fool crazy stunts!"

Face was still looking at the cloud of dust that was all that remained to show where the men had left.

"I don't think so, big guy. For once, I got the idea that Murdock knew exactly what he was doing."

"Face is right, B.A. I saw Murdock react to something just before he called out to those guys. He obviously heard them say something about your mother."

Hannibal's voice got a little softer.

"You remember how much Murdock talked about your mother after we met her. She treated him good. Nicer than even we treat him. I knew he'd gotten attached to her... I guess I know now just how attached. You heard what he said. Your place is with your mother. Something bad is happening or about to be happening around her. The Captain stepped in to make sure that you were free so you could go there and be by her side to handle it."

B.A. looked back to where the dust was just about to finish settling back down. Then he let out a sigh.

"Crazy fool... he better not go get himself hurt. My mother'll skin me if I let anything happen to him. She was serious about wanting to adopt him. It's them big brown puppy dog eyes of his. She never could pass up a stray."

Face went over and looked at the tires.

"Let me guess - only one spare?"

At that, B.A.'s expression changed to a slight smile.

"You kidding? The way we go through tires? Come on - we got to get on the road and get to my mother 'fore those idiots do something to her or our boy Murdock."


	2. Chapter 2

Returning to consciousness was not a pleasurable experience for Murdock. For one thing? Major headache. For another, his limbs were all stiff and cramped from being tied. While he'd been out, the men had tied his legs and gagged him. This was definitely going to make escaping from them tricky. He opened his eyes and tried to take a look around him. Some sort of warehouse office would have been his best guess.

"Baracus is awake."

After a few seconds, Murdock was actually glad for the gag. He hadn't been able to blurt out anything stupid before his aching head remembered that he was supposed to be B.A. Even with the mess he was in, Murdock couldn't help but find it funny that anyone could mistaken him for his muscular, jewelry-heavy teammate. Heck, they didn't even wear their hair the same way.

"Good. Make the call. We're going to be on the speaker phone."

Murdock got a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach. He had to keep the crazy down and he had to think fast. There had to be a way for him to alert B.A.'s mother that there was a problem – and to please not give him away. He could only come up with one thing and he hoped it would work. Mrs. Baracus' voice came over the speaker as she answered her phone.

"Hello?"

"Good evening, Mrs. Baracus. Given any more thought to your testimony?"

"Who is this?"

"Just someone concerned about the well-being of your family. We have someone with us who needs to talk with you. Ungag him. Go on – speak to her."

Licking his lips to remoisten them, Murdock closed his eyes and hoped for the best.

"Mom? Mom, it's me. Scooter."

In Chicago, Mrs. Baracus was staring at her phone. That voice – that was that sweet man-child Murdock. But why would he be using Bosco's childhood nickname with her? There had to be bad trouble, so she decided to play along.

"Baby? What's wrong? Are you alright? What's going on?"

"I'll be fine, Mom – don't worry about... oof!"

Her hands gripped the phone hard as she could hear the distinct sounds of a beating coming over the line before the first voice spoke up again.

"No, Mrs. Baracus. be very worried about your boy here. We'll be back in touch."

The connection was cut-off and she hung up the phone for only a moment before picking it back up and dialing. She found herself reaching for one of the pictures she's taken of him while the boys had all been there for very early Christmas dinner.

She knew who it was when she heard the voice that answered their van phone and she started in immediately.

"Hannibal… who has my poor Murdock and why are they hurting him?"

B.A. and Face both knew something was wrong from the expression Hannibal made before he looked over to B.A. and mouthed 'it's your mother'. B.A. immediately looked for a spot to pull the van over.

"Mrs. Baracus – has someone called you? You didn't call Murdock by name, did you?"

The thought of that gave Hannibal a sick feeling. If those goons found out that Murdock had tricked them, there was no telling what they might do to the pilot.

"I just got off the phone with them. No…. he called himself Scooter when they made him talk over the phone, so I knew something was wrong. I just called him Baby."

Able to breathe again, Hannibal passed the phone over to the very impatient B.A.

"Mother – what's going on? Why are some fools talking about needing leverage against you?"

"I was a witness to a shooting, Bosco. I'm supposed to testify in court next week. There were other witnesses, but no-one else willing to say what they saw. I think I can see why now. But why did they take Murdock?"

"It's a long story. They came looking for me and the crazy fool told them that he was me so that I'd be able to come be with you. And the rest of the team and I are on our way there already. On our way to the airport now – we'll be there tonight, Mother. And we'll get him back."

"I'll be waiting. Bosco? It sounded like they were hurting him bad. They left the line open just so I could hear them beating him."

B.A.'s free hand made a fist and slammed into the dashboard, jolting the whole van.

"They'll get what's coming to them, Mother. I promise."

"Just hurry, please."

B.A. handed the phone back to Hannibal and peeled back out.

"Those low-life. They call my mother and have her listen on the phone while they beat Murdock hard enough for her to hear it. I'm gonna put them through a wall."

"Be glad to help you with that, B.A."

Face was good in a fight, but it would never be his preferred way of dealing with trouble. So to hear him offering to help out with putting someone through a wall? Face knew very well what that side glance B.A. gave him meant.

"Hey – this is family. B.A. This is personal."

"Yeh – you're right. Sorry, Faceman. Didn't mean to imply that I didn't think you'd get your hands a little dirty."

Hannibal was keep watch on the road signs.

"Airport is the next right. We'll have to go commercial. No other choice."

"Never thought I'd have to say I miss having that Fool here to fly us somewhere."


	3. Chapter 3

Murdock was aching in more places than he'd known he had, but he just kept repeating to himself over and over that this was for Mother Baracus. These guys didn't have any right to spoil her Mother's Day – or any other day for that matter. Hopefully, they'd just keep going under the misconception that he was B.A. and everything would eventually work out. He knew the guys would eventually find him. He hoped sooner than later, but also knew they'd go take care of Mother Baracus first.

They'd regagged him shortly after the phone call. He really didn't care for that at all, but at the same time, it did keep him from doing a lot of nervous talking that might have given him away. And he probably would have been doing a lot of talking if he'd been able to. It really bothered him that Mother Baracus had to have listened to what they were doing. They should be ashamed for upsetting such a nice woman - although he knew they weren't and never would be. Which is why he really wished he could punch them. If they didn't have the common courtesy to be ashamed, they should at least be bruised.

Where they'd left him lying on the floor was very uncomfortable, but things soon got worse. Murdock decided he really needed to remember that in the future. No matter how crappy things were, they could still get worse. He wondered if he could get that on a t-shirt as the men forced his knees to bend until his calves and thighs met, then stuffed him into a seabag. It was one of those green heavy canvas affairs and it smelled musty. When they closed him up inside of it, it was pitch black and hard to breathe in there to boot. After that, all he got were sensations to go by to figure out what was going on.

Lifted. Set down in some vehicle. Driving. Parking. Noises. Very familiar noises, so it was an airport. Lifted again and settled down on what must have been some sort of flatbed cart. Wheeled for a long distance with lots of jolts and bumps. Lifting again, this time being passed up. Since they were at an airport, Murdock guess he was being loaded onto a plane.

_"Must be a private plane. I'm too big to be considered carry-on luggage by the commercial flyers. Okay. Doors are being locked. Engines starting. Twin engine prop."_

He'd held onto a slim hope that they'd let him out of the bag once the plane was locked down. Or at least open the top of the bag to let some air in, but no such luck. He tried to take his mind off of it all by guessing what sort of engines this bird had, but that didn't hold his interest for very long.

It was, oddly enough, a muscle pain that made him get a slight case of the giggles. Oh sure, he was cramped up and uncomfortable, but what if he actually had been B.A.? No way would they have been able to shove that muscular frame into this stupid sack. Not without busting every seam out of it, they wouldn't. But that distraction didn't last long either.

His body heat being held into the small space was making the air humid as well as stuffy. He felt too warm as well. The plane was in the process of take-off when the heat, stuffiness and his pains all combined and Murdock passed out.

On the tarmac of that same airport, Hannibal idly watched a small private plane build up speed and lift off while the commercial jet he was seated on waited for clearance. He had no idea as he watched it disappear into the clouds that it was carrying his missing man. Then the jet began to taxi down the runway itself - which meant he and Face had their hands full trying to keep a white-knuckled B.A. calm for the sake of everyone onboard.

Face found himself wishing that he had a tape recorder with him so that he could've made a record of everything B.A. was complaining about. He would have have loved to watch Murdock's face while he listened to the continuous string of comments.

"Who's flying this crate? Murdock could do better than him in his sleep. This that fool's first time as a pilot? Murdock crashes smoother than that fool up there is flying this."

Yes, Face figured all of that indirect praise would have brought a tear to his buddy's eyes. Which took him straight back to worrying about Murdock. He really hoped the men were just making a lot of noise to try and scare Mrs. Baracus instead of giving Murdock such a brutal beating. He had a nasty feeling that the beating was the real thing though, which made him wish the plane could go faster. Oh well. At least B.A.'s deathgrip was on the armrests and not his arm. That would have been like a tourniquet. Only tighter.

All three of them breathed easier when the plane finally landed and taxied to the gate for them to unload. Hannibal had the same feeling of relief that he'd felt the first time they'd all met Mrs. Baracus. To be precise, he felt the same when the plane came to a full stop as he had immediately after B.A. had successfully disarmed the bomb in the basement. B.A. was grumbling all the way out.

"They call that a landing? Murdock's made less bumpy landings without a runway."

Fortunately, Face had already made arrangements for a rental car, so they were out of the airport quickly and on their way to the building where Mrs. Baracus lived. They were all rather pleased to notice that the building was in much better repair than when they'd last seen it, but that reminded them all of Murdock again. It had been the movies Murdock had taken that had helped get rid of the men trying to drive the tenants out of the building.

Upstairs in her apartment, Mrs. Baracus was, of course, very happy to see her son, but terribly worried about what might be happening to her 'other baby'. B.A. growled and grumbled some after she called Murdock that, but his mother just shook her finger at him.

"Bosco - quit your sulking and start coming up with one of your plans to get him back before they hurt him any more."

Mrs. Baracus was still under the mistaken impression (gotten from her son) that her Bosco was the leader of the A-Team. While Hannibal needled B.A. about that, he had no intentions of setting the record straight. Every boy liked his mother to be proud of him, after all. Besides, their 'leader' could handle the current problem - which was getting Mrs. Baracus to calm down.

"Mother... please. Sit down. You gonna wear yourself out."

"Bosco, how do you expect me to relax when that poor baby is in danger? That boy is so special."

"Yeah... he's 'special' alright."

His mother walked over to him and gave him a light swat for that.

"Now don't you be mean. Or jealous. Just because I love you doesn't mean that I can't love him too. You know very well what I meant by special. He wouldn't hurt a fly - well, not unless he found out that fly was bullying other flies."

B.A. backed down immediately.

"I know, momma - I know. You're right and I'm sorry. I get snappy whenever I'm worried."

Mrs. Baracus laughed at that and gave her son a kiss.

"Tell me something about you that I don't already know. Oh I wanted to see you all so bad for Mother's Day, but not like this. Hannibal? Face? Come on over. I've got sandwiches made and waiting for you boys. Airline food's not fit to feed a dog."


	4. Chapter 4

When Murdock came back to, he was still inside the bag, but they'd either flown to the North Pole or were somewhere with very good air conditioning. He felt the bag he was in get a nudge, then heard a new voice.

"What the hell's in this thing?"

"We've got Baracus in there, Boss. Didn't figure you'd want us parading him around in plain sight."

"No way. You couldn't fit all of Baracus in something this size even if you dismembered him. Open it up."

The inrush of cool fresh air was wonderful. Not so wonderful was being dumped out of the bag onto the floor.

"You idiots! That's not B.A. Baracus! B.A. Baracus is a black guy built like a wrestler. Practically wears an entire jewelry shop!"

"uhm... you never mentioned what he looked like, Boss. And this guy said he was Baracus."

One of the other of the crew chimed in.

"And when we put the call through to his mother, she recognized his voice. Even seemed real upset."

That stopped the Boss who then leaned over to take a better look at Murdock.

"Did she now? This might still work out then. Ungag him. Jones? Make the call."

Back at the apartment, Hannibal had insisted on Face installing a speaker phone before they all settled down to eat. If another call came through, he wanted to hear what was being said and done.

When they all sat down at the table, they pretended to eat, but nobody really had an appetite. Mrs. Baracus didn't have one herself, so she didn't fuss or encourage them to eat more. She was about to give up the pretense and clear the table when the phone rang.

Face quickly went over and made sure that all of them could hear, but that only Mrs. Baracus's voice would be heard on the other end. Once it was double checked, he flashed her an encouraging smile as she answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hello again, Mrs. Baracus. Seems like we made a little mistake and picked up someone other than your son. So I'm sure you won't mind us using him as an example of what we do to people who try and trick us."

The distinctive lock and load sound was easily recognizable. Mrs. Baracus panicked and shouted into the phone.

"Don't you hurt my baby!"

All of them jumped when they heard the gunshot over the speaker and a pained cry that they all knew was from Murdock.

"Now, Mrs. Baracus. That shot just hit a foot. Your call whether or not the next one goes somewhere more vital."

Murdock's voice suddenly rose from the background.

"No! Don't listen them. Don't.."

"Shut him up!"

Mrs. Baracus couldn't stand it anymore.

"You listen here! I'll... I'll do what you ask, but if you hurt that child anymore, there's not a force in Heaven or Hell that will stop me from testifying!"

The man smirked as he looked over to where his hostage was lying. The gag had been tied back in place and the man was actually weeping. He assumed it was from the pain, but really it was from the anger and frustration at the situation. Murdock wanted to hit the smirking Boss so badly, it was an ache worse than his foot.

"I'm sure your boy here is grateful you've decided to see reason. This is how it's going to work. Monday, you'll go in as scheduled and then? You're going to get amnesia. You can't remember a thing clearly anymore. You do that and that night? He'll be back with you."

"I expect to hear his voice on Monday before I go to court. I can't talk to him, that amnesia is going to heal up mighty fast."

"We'll hold up our end - you just make sure you hold up yours."

The Boss hung up the line and looked back to his men.

"Monday night, we'll be taking the woman as well. Since they're so close, shouldn't bother them to share the same grave. Just like I promised. He'll be with her."


	5. Chapter 5

B.A. looked fully ready to rip someone's head off as he tried to console his upset mother. Face was feeling sick over thinking about what Murdock must be going through. Hannibal? He had a fixed expression on his face that said he was deep in thought.

"Guys couldn't have driven Murdock here. They wouldn't have had time. Had to have flown and it couldn't have been commercial."

"On it, Colonel."

Face could see where Hannibal's thoughts were headed and he jumped at the chance to do something - anything - useful. Hannibal slowly walked to a window and looked out.

"This is Saturday. We don't have a lot of time to find Murdock and free him."

Still holding onto her son, Mrs. Baracus looked from him to Hannibal.

"Those men. They aren't going to let him go, are they? No matter what I do."

Hannibal met B.A.'s eyes and the big man sighed.

"No, Momma. With everything they're doing to keep you from testifying, they aren't going to let him go. Not after what he's likely to have seen."

Never mind that Murdock's mental state might make his testimony inadmissible. Those guys likely didn't know enough about the pilot to know that.

"Got it. Colonel!"

Face came back from making his phone calls as a 'representative from the Federal Aviation Administration'.

"Only two private craft had flight plans from where we were to Chicago. One of them took off before Murdock was taken, so that means the other should be who we're after."

Then the time he'd written down clicked with Face.

"They took off just before our flight did, Colonel."

"That plane I was watching through the window..."

Hannibal stiffened as he thought about how near they'd been without knowing. Face grimaced as well, hurrying on with what he'd been able to learn.

"Plane belongs to a Chicago based company. Forrock-McGarrin Industries. I've got the address for the airfield where they're supposed to have landed. Private strip - same company."

"He fired a gun and obviously wasn't worried about the neighbors. That may well be where they're holding Murdock."

"Hannibal - my momma shouldn't be alone."

B.A. looked down as his mother gave him a tight hug.

"Son - you and the team go. Karen still lives upstairs. I'm sure she won't mind me staying with her while you're gone if it will make you feel better. I'm not scared. I'm just mad. I'm mad because of what they're doing to that poor child and I'm mad because they wanted to do all of that to you. When you get those men, you hit them for me, Bosco. And you hit them hard."

B.A. just grinned as he leaned down to kiss his mother.

"Those fools are just lucky you aren't coming with us. They'd be begging the police to take 'em to a nice safe cell."

Back with Murdock, the Boss had his men drag the Captain into a storeroom and lock the door. It was a bit dim in there, but as soon as his eyes adjusted, Murdock was squirming around to see if there was anything he could use to free himself. These guys had gone too far when they'd threatened to hurt Mrs. Baracus. He'd been willing to bide his time until the team found him, but he wasn't going to wait anymore now that she was in danger.

Metal shelves. Some tools hanging on the walls, but well out of his reach. At least until he could free his ankles and stand. Some of the shelf braces looked a bit rough and rusty. That might just be his ticket.

Shuffling himself around, Murdock ignored the pain from his foot and forced his feet to go on either side of the upright support and started the long, tiring process of rubbing the rope against the rough surface. It wouldn't be fast, but it wasn't like he had anything that could speed the job along. He just had to keep at it and be patient. And he would keep at it for as long as it took. For Mother Baracus's sake.


	6. Chapter 6

His legs were feeling like lead weights when, after what seemed like thousands of trips up and down the rusty surface, the rope finally gave way. The sudden increase in blood flow didn't help his aching foot at all, but Murdock ignored that as he worked his legs around to try and work the numbness out of them so he could stand.

He didn't dare make his first attempt by the shelves. If he lost his balance, he might tip something over. Too much noise and the goons might unlock the door to investigate, then everything would go right back to square one. Maybe worse. Murdock remembered to remind himself about things being able to be worse. He was rather pleased that he'd remembered without needing a t-shirt.

It took a little while, but he manage to push himself over to a spot on the wall with no shelves too near. Getting onto his feet from the floor without having use of his hands proved to be tricky, but he finally managed it and gained a much better view of what he might be able to make use of next.

Back with the team, Face located a map that showed where it was they needed to go. It wasn't easy to make a plan from the sketchy information they had, but they didn't have a lot of time to do research.

"We'll have to play this one by ear. We can't just go storming in. Murdock was tied up last time we saw him. We have to assume he still is and worse, wounded. If they see us coming, they'll just put a gun to his head to keep us away."

Hannibal went silent for a minute then relooked at the map.

"This shows some sort of service road not far from where we think they're holding him. We'll leave the vehicle there and go the rest of the way in on foot."

"Let's go then. I don't want to leave that fool there any longer than we have to. My momma's gonna worry herself sick until she lays eyes on Murdock again."

"Let's head out then, gentlemen. When we get there, I want you to take point, Face. We need to try to confirm we've got the right spot before we go through any doors."

"Right, Colonel."

The team quickly loaded with B.A. taking the wheel. They were out of their normal territory, so they didn't have the access to their usual weapons. They'd need to rely on stealth and surprise. Hannibal was just hoping they were guessing right about Murdock's location. If they had to start all over again, they'd never find him before time ran out. B.A was right. Murdock wouldn't be allowed to live after he was forced to make that final call to Mrs. Baracus.

It was a little past midnight when they left the rental behind and moved through the brush toward the private airstrip. The twin engine plane was still on the runway not far from a building. Hannibal guessed from the size that it would be four rooms tops inside. Most importantly, lights were on inside. Soundlessly exchanging nods, Face left his two teammates behind and began a quiet approach toward nearest window.

B.A. started to move then. That wasn't anything they'd discussed, so Hannibal laid a hand on the Sergeant's arm. Looking back at the Colonel, B.A. just smiled and then pointed to the plane. Hannibal considered that for only a moment before giving the big man a pat and nod.

It was ten minutes in all before Face came back. He looked for B.A. and it seemed to Hannibal that the good looking conman was actually relieved not to see him.

"We're in the right place, Hannibal. They're discussing where they want to dump the bodies."

"You mean body."

"No, sir. Bodies. They're planning to kidnap B.A.'s mom so she can't go back to the police again."

No wonder Face hadn't wanted to speak around B.A. News of that plan would have sent him straight through the door no matter what it meant to the plan.

A soft rustling told them that B.A. was rejoining them.

"Alright, men. Let's go get our pilot back. What are the numbers, Face?"

"I saw two men outside around to the front. And I counted at least five voices on the inside."

Face saw the question in B.A.'s eyes.

"No. Sorry. I didn't hear any voice or other sound that was from Murdock."

"We need to take down the outside men quickly and quietly. B.A, - you take the right-hand man. Face and I will take out the other. Move out."

Hannibal and Face managed to take out their man fairly quietly, but B.A.'s opponent proved to be tougher than he looked. The noise caught the attention of the men inside and Face winced when he heard someone shout out to go grab their hostage.

Hannibal heard that as well and gave B.A. the nod to kick in the door. The scene they came in on was chaotic. Three of the men inside turned to face them while another was attempting to deal with their hostage. He hadn't known the pilot had managed to free himself until he opened the door and Murdock came out on the attack. Howling Mad was just that and he was, despite his condition, currently beating the crap out of the man.

The rest of the A-Team wasn't idle either, each of them taking on one of the other three men. The men had weapons, but not much chance to use them. They weren't combat veterans like the team - just hired thugs who were used to people that backed down at the sight of a gun. The A-Team wasn't backing down for anything this time.

A door slammed and Murdock delivered one last punch to knock his man down before hobbling to a window as quickly as he could.

"Their head man is trying to get away, Colonel! He's headed for their plane."

B.A. slammed his opponent into the wall, then laughed.

"Don't you worry about that none, Murdock. Your playmate ain't going anywhere. Oh - and this one here is from my momma!"

That last was to the man against the wall just before B.A. put his lights out with a right cross.

Outside, the Boss started the engines on his plane as quickly as he was able and began to taxi down the runway. The four teammates came out of the door just in time for Hannibal to learn what B.A. had done. The wheels came off of the landing struts and the plane tipped suddenly before coming to a noisy halt.

When the Boss looked out, he saw the smiling face of Colonel John 'Hannibal' Smith, cigar in the corner of his mouth. B.A and Murdock were to his left and Face to his right - all of them were holding weapons 'liberated' from the other men.

Once the Boss and his men were secured, Face opened a few cabinets. He didn't have to look far to find records of some of the company's illegal dealings. Leaving a few choice pieces out in plain sight, he rejoined the others. A quick anonymous call after they left would bring the police in.

They hadn't gotten far when the adrenaline wore off and Murdock staggered. He would have fallen if B.A. hadn't reacted quickly enough. Then he took his first close look at the battered man. Even in the dim light, the bruises were evident. B.A. shook his head and picked Murdock up as if he'd been a child.

"Come on, you crazy fool. What did you mean jumping into a fight like you did in your condition? Coulda got yourself killed."

"I had to, big guy. I had to. They were going to try to hurt your mom."

Both Hannibal and Face drew closer as B.A. held Murdock a little tighter. The furious man was very tempted to go right back to the building and punch them all out one more time, but he took a deep breath. B.A. didn't say how he really felt himself, but his voice was full of emotion when he spoke and started to walk toward the rental again.

"Well... come on. She's worried sick about you. Not gonna have Momma lose sleep over your fool self. Speaking of which, what put the fool notion in your head to tell those losers that you were me?"

"They made me mad... joked about how taking you was going to be a Mother's Day present for your mom. I couldn't let them ruin her day like that."

"Crazy fool..."

Face just smiled a little. It was amazing how B.A.'s tone had made that come out as a fond nickname instead of an insult. Murdock caught the tone as well and smiled.

"Flowers."

"Huh?"

"It's after midnight, right?'

"Yeh. So?"

"So, it's Mother's Day now."

Hannibal reached up and tried to find an unbruised place to pat on Murdock.

"We'll find some, son."

After they had made their way back to the apartment, Murdock insisted that he needed to clean up before Mother Baracus saw him. Once the guys got a good look at him in the light, they agreed. B.A. rounded up some first-aid items and Face got together some clothes for him while Hannibal took over the job of helping Murdock into the tub. He got angry all over again at the livid marks covering most of Murdock's body not to mention the injury to his foot. Fortunately, the shot didn't seem to have broken any bones.

"That was very foolish what you did - trading places with the Sergeant like that. Foolish and very brave."

"It's what we do, Colonel. Look out for each other, right?"

"Right. You did good, son. Now, let's try and get you presentable for Mrs. Baracus."

Less than ten minutes later, Murdock found himself being swept into Mother Baracus's gentle but firm embrace as she kissed him.

"Oh baby...I'm so happy to see you... are you alright? Is he going to be alright?"

B.A. just smiled at his mother and nodded.

"He'll be fine, Momma. We'll all see to that."

"Now - you listen to me, H.M. Murdock. You're family now. I said I'd like to adopt you... well, I don't see why I can't. Unless you don't want it."

Murdock hugged her back tightly, but didn't answer immediately. Instead he looked into B.A.'s eyes.

B.A. looked back at Murdock, looked to his mother, then just shook his head with a short laugh.

"It's them brown puppy dog eyes of yours. Welcome to the family, fool."

That got him a loving swat from his mother.

"Bosco? You be nice to your brother."

Face suddenly needed to do something. He was not, repeat **not** , going to get all choked up. Remembering the flowers they'd managed to find at an all-night market, he grabbed them and offered them to Mrs. Baracus,

"Seems the appropriate time. Happy Mother's Day, Mrs. Baracus."

"Get over here. You too, Hannibal. Flowers are nice, but I've already got the best Mother's Day present a woman could have. I have all four of the most important men in my life with me right now and you're all safe."

Hannibal gave his own sigh of contentment. He had his missing man back.

"You know, Mrs. Baracus, none of us had much of an appetite earlier, but if you still have those sandwiches...?"

"Say no more, Hannibal. Bosco, help HM to the table. Let's all eat and then get some rest."

All of them dug into the sandwiches like they were starving.

"You know, baby? I need to find you a nickname. Scooter's already taken."

A tired smile formed on Murdock's face. He wasn't going to be able to stay awake much longer.

"Shame. I think I look like a Scooter."

"You look like the crazy fool you are."

"Boys..."

"I don't know what you're going on about, Momma. You already gave him a nickname."

"I have?"

"She has?"

"Yep. Baby."

Mother Baracus just started laughing and the others joined it.

"I guess I have been calling you Baby for awhile at that. And I think it fits."

Murdock gave her a huge smile.

"I like it... Mom."

Face lifted his glass of milk.

"Well then. To Baby and Scooter."

Face quickly found that getting 'the eye' from both B.A. and Murdock to be a little unnerving.

"Watch it, Faceman. Or you're likely be wearing that milk."


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue - Mother Baracus' POV.

**Vigil**

I'm so glad this building's been fixed up properly now. The floors don't squeak and I can move around to check on my boys without waking them. They all need their sleep so badly.

I only have three bedrooms and they wouldn't hear of me giving up mine. So Bosco, Hannibal and Face are all in the guest room together. Bosco's sprawled all over one bed. Face and Hannibal are sharing the other bed. Just from the way that they're laying there, you can tell this isn't the first time. They aren't scrunched up trying to keep to themselves, yet they aren't touching. That sort of ability only comes with time.

Easing the door back quietly, I move over to Bosco's old room. Everyone insisted that Baby needed the room to himself most. With him, I don't just look in, I go in and sit down by his bedside. If it wasn't for the cuts and bruising on his face, you'd swear it was a child sleeping here. Tossled hair and that gentle face of his.

I've never been in a war myself. God forbid that I ever am. But I know it's an ugly thing that does things to the people that have been in them. Hannibal and Face - well, I didn't know them before, so I can't say exactly how much different they are. But I'm a mother. I can look in Hannibal's eyes past the smile and see the weight he carries and saw how part of it lifted off of him when he was able to see all three of his men in the same room together. When I saw that? That's when I knew that Bosco had told me a little white lie. He wasn't the leader of the A-Team - Hannibal was. I just didn't know him well enough at first to be able to spot it. But he's the one that feels responsible for keeping them all together and safe.

Face? That child is as damaged as Baby is, but in a whole different direction. Instead of being open as a child, he's as closed as a book. No. Closed as a diary. The kind with a lock. You can look at the cover, but not the pages. Oh, I suppose the other three get glimpses, but most of the times you can tell he's putting on an act. He reminds me of a little boy that used to live down the hall. He'd come sniffing around whenever I baked cookies. Oh, the stories he told. His father was a fireman. His mother was a school teacher. Not a bit of it true. He thought he had to be someone else or people wouldn't like him. I'd almost be willing to bet that Face was like that as a child too. I would never ask him that though. He wears his pride like armor. Maybe someday he'll be comfortable enough around me to let it down. For now, at least he has the other boys. He still pretends with them, of course, but I've seen that armor slip a little around them when he didn't know anyone was looking.

My Bosco? He came back from the war gruff and growling. He pretends his hide is as thick as a rhino's, but I know better. He didn't used to be so flashy. So... well, mouthy. Whatever happened to him over there is still too tender and sore for him to talk to me about even now. I suppose he's got part of that same problem as Face. He throws out that he's the biggest, baddest and meanest - it makes folks back away. Most folks. I worried about him a lot until I saw just how close he and the others are. I'd heard the words 'brothers in arms' but they were just words until I saw the meaning behind them with these four.

Then there's Baby here. Murdock. Gentle soul that got crushed over there. Oh sure, they were all in the service, but he wasn't a fighter. Face has told me stories about him. Fistful of medals. No telling how many men are still breathing today because of the wounded he was able to fly out of bad situations. I don't think he's insane, but a bit crazy? Yes. But how could any caring man see death up-close on such a regular basis and not go a little crazy?

I get snapped out of my thoughts by a sound almost like a whimper. Looking over, I can see it in his face. Nightmare. I don't touch him yet. He was beat so much by those men, he might think it was one of them again. Instead, I just start speaking to him.

"Baby... it's alright. You got away from them. You're safe here with Momma."

I see it then. A sliver of those warm brown eyes of his as he sees me and then gives me a smile as big as any two-year old could manage. That's when I reach out and touch him. How little love has this child had that something so simple as a gentle touch fills him to near overflowing with happiness?

"You go back to sleep, sweetheart. This chair is so comfortable, I think I'm just going to stay in it tonight if you don't mind sharing the room with me."

He doesn't have to say a word. His expression says it all as his hand touches mine before his body drags him back to sleep.

I just get up long enough to get myself a blanket from the shelf. This really is a comfortable chair. Had it for years. I've spent many a night in it before when Scooter was little. I'd always stay by his side when he was sick. Now I've got another son to tend to. That's one good thing that's come out of the war. I've got a bigger family now. Including Hannibal and Face. And I wouldn't trade a one of them.


End file.
